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Board finds science progress "not yet achieved" for K–12 elementary; approves Amplify Science for K–5
Summary
Trustees voted that district science results do not yet show reasonable progress and simultaneously approved a recommendation to adopt Amplify Science as the district’s K–5 science curriculum, citing a multi‑year rollout and the team's pilot testing and Spanish‑language availability.
The Verona Area School District board concluded that science monitoring results did not yet meet the district's "reasonable progress" standard for K–12 elementary science, and separately approved the administration's recommendation to adopt Amplify Science as the K–5 science curriculum.
District presenters told trustees that year‑over‑year forward exam data show declines at elementary grades and mixed results at middle and high school levels: elementary proficiency decreased overall from 2023–24 to 2024–25, middle school showed slight increases for some groups, and high‑school preACT scores declined year‑to‑year even while cohort tracking showed growth between preACT and ACT. Staff said those trends, together with schedule and minutes‑allocation issues at elementary grades, motivated a K–5 curricular renewal.
Curriculum leads described a multi‑step renewal: a diverse teacher and coach team evaluated six resources against a 10‑criteria rubric; two finalists were piloted in classrooms; teacher and student feedback was gathered; vendors answered follow‑up questions; and the team reached consensus on Amplify Science because it aligned to standards, included Spanish‑native materials, emphasized disciplinary literacy and hands‑on experiences, and matched implementation capacity (the district already uses Amplify at middle grades).
The board debated whether the science monitoring should be recorded as "achieving reasonable progress." One trustee moved that reasonable progress had not yet been achieved; the board approved that motion by voice vote. Separately, trustees voted to adopt Amplify Science for K–5; the motion passed by voice vote. Administration said implementation will follow a three‑year model with professional learning and PLC support and that the district will closely monitor the adoption's effect on forward exam and formative data.
The board asked staff to report back in the next monitoring cycle with progress data and requested attention to elementary scheduling to allow sustained hands‑on science time.
